Solenoid-operated window regulator



1953 s. GREENMUN 2,657,924

SOLENOIDOPERATED WINDOW REGULATOR Filed Jan. 26, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l Q ZB 5'85? 59* INVENTOR.

LEO S. G REENMUN BY MMQM ATTORNEY.

NOV. 3, 1953 s, GREENMUN 2,657,924

SOLENOID-OPERATED WINDOW REGULATOR Filed Jan. 26 1950 4 Sheets-Shet 5 54 w 51 55 71,? J: I I um IIH H 92 INVENTOR.

5E0 S. G REENMUN Mid ATTO RNEY.

NOV. 3, 1953 s, GREENMUN 2,657,924

SOLENOID-OPERATED WINDOW REGULATOR Filed Jan. 26, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 m rm I J m 75 I 78 I 75 5 81 67 INVENTOR. LEO S. GREENMUN ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 3, 195?:

SQLENQ. -P R TE W NDOW .REGULATQB Leo S. Greenrnun, Avoca, N. I :Appligation January 26, 1950, Serial No. 140,672

3 Claims. 01. gee-104) This invention relates, as indicated, to window regulators, but has reference more particularly to a solenoid-operated window regulator.

A primary object of theinvention is to provide a window'regulator of the character described, which is relatively low in cost as well as'in cost of installation, which canbelnstalled on cars in a fraction'of'the'time required for installation of hydrauli al y actuated regulators,

which can beinst'alle d one .unit'at a time, with- 1 elusive of the drawings, there is illustrated; as viewed from the exterior of the automobile, the

t requiring of e he unite; a d hi a m kesl ad anta e f th e point of safety.

Another ebieet 9 th p ent ee is n vid a re t r f te elz e t r ee e t e q Whi h adapted for installation as an accessory onexisting or standard types of autOm biE L Pi Z E In;

o en io re u a ors to ,reie gele e -es Wind w by vert cal re t line mov en A further object of the invention i toiprovide a regulator of the character described, having s na tieularl the latter.

m a o e e v l :euehi nin the o e n and l n veme e the w dewee A still further object of the invention is ,to provide a e u or ,9 he e ie rt i er d e w h i o act n .ee r-u e end sisn. aev to install, and consists ;of go number of parts which are inexpensive to manufacture.

Other ob e ts and ad a a es of t e vent n will beanp t du in th course of theoll wns e c iptio In the accompanyingnrawings, forminga part of this specification, and in which like numerals r -.emp oved o desi na e ts throu hout the same,

F 1 is4a-f gment ry elevat o view,showing one form of.solenoid actuategi:window regulator, constructed in accordance with theinvention;

'Fig. ,2 is a fragmentary cross+sectiona1 :view, taken on the line 2. 2 ,ofzFig. 1;

Fig. -3 is a i-fragmentary cross-sectional wiew, taken,on=the,line373:of:Fig. l;

;F ig. 14 is a wiringfliagramshowing, :in 3, diagrammatic manner, the-operation and electrical connections -of a system embodying the window regulators;

Fig. .5 is ;a fragmentary i detail view, .showing :a modification of :the solenoid :plunger cushioning means;

v l igfi isla viewsimilar to Fig. 1,=but showing a-modifiedzform of theiinvention;

Fig. 7 is :a :fragmentaryylew, :partly :in elevation and :partly .iin z-section,on anvenlarged scale, showing .the cylinder gforacushioningimoveznents of theWindoW;

te e 55 openin 2 i3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the line'B-fi of 6';

"Fig. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View, taken on the "line 9 9 of Fig. 6; 1 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on the'line lit-l 0 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view, showing a modified form of pivotal mounting for the cushioning cylinder.

' Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 inleft front window I, this window conforming generally with the shape of the window opening in the door. The window is pivotally movable about the axis 0 for opening 31 d closing the same.

Such windows, including means for mounting and imparting pivotal movement thereto, are dis closed, by way of example, in my copending applications, Serial os. 622,032 now PatentNo. 2 559 120, is ued ori'July 5,, 1951, and 791,319,

In the present case, the window I has itslo'wer or bottom edgeenclosed in a channel mounting 5 Z, and the channel mounting is removably Se:

7 cured to and'suppo'rtedby a plate 3, a portion 4 of which is in the form of a sector ofa gear, which is reinforced by means of an arcuate membe ha ing ea teetha gn d th he ee o I The d ta edme ne in eht e ha nel 2 is supported'bythe plate 3 is fully described in the aforesaid applica o Ser al N 9 319, so that furthendescrintiqn thereof is deemed un jIIhe plate ,3 ismounted for rotation aboutfa pivot screw .5, ,w hich' is mounted in a generally rectangu a .meu tins plat e plate is rigidly secured ,to the door frame structure, indicated aw, .bvmfii m Q s w nd lo k wa hers'gnot shown) The plate '3 is provided with a .circular empossment .9, whicliservesasa support for a; gear driv or mechanism i rota i ithe p t igf the purpose of raising or loweringthewindow I;

Eorh purpose; thegembpssment 9 hassecured 9 4 9 dis 1. h vin i, central hub portion 1| mehleemesn a iris journalled. The h t an enlar ed he'ad L3 at-its outer end provided with gear teeth t4 which extend axially ,orthe suartaiidi-into the spaces between the teeth of a pinion l SQ-JIhe pinionli is inmesh with the ,teeth of g-thegear segment (land .it's re} e {P3 J6; one end ;o hi i mo nted i an a gr iqngfl sth mb s menta which 1s truekn resse ou wardl to form .a tongue n er em g' e m isme nt drio o a ion a ou ii. The other end of the pin I6 is mounted in an axial recess (not shown) in one end of the shaft l2. The shaft l2 has riveted to its inner end a pinion 18.

The pinion I8 is in mesh with the teeth IQ of a gear sector 28, which, like the gear sector 4, is reinforced by means of an arcuate member 2! having gear teeth aligned with the teeth of sector 20. The gear sector is provided with an integral triangular portion 22, which lies in a plane parallel to the sector 20, but oifset outwardly therefrom to form an enclosure for a hollow spacer element 23, which is welded. as at 24, to a base plate 25. The base plate is secured, as by bolts 26 and nuts 21, to the frame 8 of the door.

Rigidly secured to the apex portion 28 of the portion 22 of the sector 20 is a sector pinion 29, the teeth of which are in mesh with a short rack element 30 having a vertical stem 3|. The stem 3! of the rack 30 is removably secured, as by means of a bolt 32 and nut 33, to a flat surface 34 at the inner side of a piston or solenoid plunger 35. The plunger 35 has its ends disposed in encased solenoid coils 36 and 31.

The solenoid coils 38 and 31 are rigidly secured to brackets 38, the legs of which are provided with screw studs 39, which extend through slots 40 (Fig. 3) in the base plate 25. This permits the brackets 38 to be adjusted longitudinally of the base plate to some extent, thereby permitting the position of the solenoid coils to be adjusted to some degree to insure complete opening and closing of the window. After such adjustment has been effected, the brackets 38 are locked in adjusted position by forcing the nuts 41 on the studs 38 against the base plate 25.

The solenoids are adapted to be energized by current derived from the battery of the automobile, and in this connection, the wiring diagram shown in Fig. 4 may be utilized. This diagram shows an arrangement noids of all four doors of an automobile separately or independently of each other, or simultaneously.

When the solenoid 36 is to be energized, for the purpose of lowering the window I, without lowering any of the other windows of the car, the driver presses a push-button 42, which may be on the door, for as long as he desires movement of the window, the window stopping immediately on release of the button, which is a springpressed button. This closes a circuit to the solenoid 36, thereby energizing this solenoid, and causing the plunger 35 to be moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1. This causes clockwise rotation of the gear sector 20 and clockwise rotation oi, the gear sector 4, thereby causing the window I to be lowered, that is to say, rotated in a clockwise direction about the axis 0.

For the purpose of slowing the speed of the plunger 35, in a progressive manner, as the latter approaches the end of its stroke, a small air egress opening or passageway 43 is provided in the end of the solenoid 36. This cushions the action or movement of the plunger, thereby controlling the movement of the plunger in a highly desirable manner. In other words, during the greater part of the stroke, the plunger moves at normal speed, but as the end of the stroke is approached, the speed of travel of the plunger is slowed, due to compression of the air in the solenoid ahead of the plunger, and slow leakage thereof through the passageway 43. This insures movement of the window in a gentle manner.

for energizing the sole- When it is desired to class the window or move it upwardly to any desired position, the driver energizes the solenoid 31 by pressing a push button 44, also located on the door, for as long as he desires movement of the window, the window stopping immediately upon release of the button, which, is similar to the button 42. This closes a circuit to the solenoid 31, thereby energizing this solenoid, and causing the plunger 35 to be moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1. This causes counter-clockwise rotation of the gear sector 20 and counter-clockwise rotation of the gear sector 4, thereby causing the window I to be raised, that is to say, rotated in a counter-clockwise direction about the axis 0. This movement or the plunger 35 i slowed in the same manner as already described, due to the provision of an air egress opening or passageway 45 in the end of the solenoid 31.

By utilizing a pair of solenoids in tandem, and using a single solenoid plunger approximately twice as long as a conventional plunger (used with a single solenoid coll) the pulling power of each solenoid is virtually doubled. This is due to the fact that the cubical volume of the solenoid plunger is doubled over that of a conventional plunger, so that the magnetic permeability of the plunger as a whole is doubled. This was demonstrated in a test in which it was found that a solenoid plunger of conventional or standard length held 104 pounds, whereas, when two such plungers were bolted together in tandem, the solenoid coil held against a pull of more than 208 pounds. It follows from this that smaller solenoid units can be used where a pull of only 104 pounds is required. This feature enables the solenoid units to be reduced to a size which will conveniently fit within a conventional automobile door.

For separate or independent operation of the solenoids, a separate button or switch for each solenoid is provided on each of the car doors, as described.

when it is desired to operate all of the windows simultaneously, in a downward direction, a master switch 46 (Fig. 4), may be provided, which switch is preferably mounted on the dashboard, so that the car operator has access to it from his position behind the wheel. Similarly, a master switch 41 (Fig. 4), may be mounted on the dashboard, for simultaneously raising all four windows. The unnumbered solenoids and plungers in Fig. 4 are those on the other doors of the car.

In Fig. 5, a modification of the solenoid plunger cushioning means is shown, in which a pin 48 is threadedly secured in the end of the plunger 36, and is provided with a tapered end portion 48, so that the area of .the space between this portion 49 and the wall of the bore 45 is progressively diminished as the portion 48 enters this bore. This produces a particularly eflectlve diminution in speed of the plunger at the end of its stroke. Variations in the cushioning effect or speed may be effected by adjusting the positions of the pin 48 relatively to the plunger, a locknut 56 being provided for locking the pin in adjusted position.

A solenoid window operating unit or system as described, is extremely low in cost as well as of installation. It can be installed on all four windows of a car in about four hours, as compared with 16 to 20 hours spent in installing a hydraulic window operating system. Moreover, it can be installed one unit at a time. thereby bringing it within an ordinary buy'ers means, as

tems. In the case of aid/reek, if"an-oilpipe-an'ywheiein'a h'ydraulicsystem is ruptured, none of the windows can beopened, and thedriver might be incinerated. In a solenoid "tern, as described, brash, any the window which is damaged is thrown out of operation, the others being operable. The present system is accordingly-deemed safer than arhydraulic system Referring more particularly to -Figs. 6-to 10 inelusive of the drawings a modification of 'the invention is shown, which isadapted for installation, -as an accessory on "existing or standard typesof automobiles, utilizingconyentional;regulators for raising and lowering windows by verti- 'c'al rectilinear movement.

For this purpose, the window is mounted in "a channel 52, from which a pin 53 extends laterally through a slot 54 in one end of a conventional regulator 'bar -55. The other end of this b'ar is formed to provide a spherical socket -56. The bar-55 is mounted for pivotal 'r'no'v'ement about a shaft or pin 51 which extends from a conventional bracket plate 58 rigidly secured to the door frame of the car.

The spherical socket 56 encloses a ball 59 at the upper end of a lever consisting of threaded rods 68 and 6! which are connected by a turnbuckle 62. The lower end of the rod 6| is provided with a ball 63, enclosed within a spherical socket 64 forming part of a lever 85. The lever 65 is mounted for pivotal movement about a pin 66, which is secured, as by a nut 61, to a hollow spacer element 68, which is mounted on a base plate 69. The base plate 69 is secured, as by bolts 10 and nuts H, to the frame 12 of the door.

The lever 65 is also provided with gear teeth 13, which are in mesh with a short rack element I4, having a laterally extending stem 15. The stem 15 of the rack 14 is removably secured, as by means of a bolt 16 and nut 11, to a fiat surface 18 (Fig. 8) at one side of a solenoid plunger or piston 19. The plunger 19 has its upper and lower ends disposed in encased solenoid coils 80 and 8|, which are similar in all respects to the coils 36 and 31.

The solenoid coils 88 and 8| are rigidly secured to brackets 82, the legs of which are secured to the base plate 69 in the same manner that the brackets 38 are secured to the base plate 25, so as to permit vertical adjustment of the solenoid coils relatively to the base plate.

The solenoids are adapted to be energized in the same way as the coils in the previously described form of the invention.

When the solenoid 80 is energized, the plunger 19 is pulled upwardly causing clockwise rotation of the lever 65, from the solid line position shown in Fig. 6 to the broken line position, a downward pull on the lever Bil-6|, and counter-clockwise rotation of the bar 55, as seen in Fig. 6, thereby raising or closing the window 5|. The extent of closing movement is determined by the length of time the closing button or switch is depressed. During the aforesaid movement, the pin 53 slides in the slot 54.

When the solenoid 8| is energized, the plunger '|9 is pulled downwardly, causing counter-clockwise rotation of the lever 65, from the broken line position shown in Fig. 6 to the solid line position, an upward pull on the lever 60-6I, and

assess;

"and '10.

'Such "means, comprises a cylinder 83 provided withvertically spaced openings Stand 85 interine'diate the en'ds or the cylinder, and vertically spaced openings 86an'd '81 adjacent the ends of "the cylinder, these openings being somewhat smaller in-diamet'enth'an the openings and 85. The cylinder '83 -'is provided =at-its lower end with a foot or stem 88, which is 'pivotally cotrnected to a pin-mounted in a bracket 80. I-The "'bra'cket is supported by a shelf bracket 91,

which is riveted to the frame 12 of the door.

Disposed within the cylinder 83 1s a piston 9Z, which is mounted on the lower end of wa ipiston rod 93 which is mounted for reciprocal sliding movement in theiipp'er e-nd or the cylinder. z'llh'e rod is provided at its-upperendwith a cleitisisfl, which is pivotallyconneotedas by a-Zpin..95, to the lever 65.

As the lever 65 is swung downwardly, the rod 93 is moved downwardly, causing the piston 92 to compress the air in the cylinder. In the initial stages of this compression, air is bled out of both openings and 81, thereby permitting the piston to move at normal speed. After the piston passes the opening 85, however, the air is bled out of only the small opening 81, and is compressed to such an extent as to efiectively cushion the final closing movement of the window. The same action occurs on the upstroke of the piston rod 93, due to the provision of the holes 84 and 86.

During the movement of the lever 65 between the positions shown in Fig. 6, the cylinder 83 is canted to a slight degree, and this is permitted by virtue of the pivotal connection of the cylinder to the bracket 90.

In Fig. 11, a modified form of pivotal mounting for the cylinder 83 is shown. In this modification, the bracket 9| is provided with spherical seats 96 and 91 surrounding a relatively large circular opening 98 in the bracket. The stem 88 is provided with a threaded portion which extends through the opening 98 and is provided with spaced nuts 99 having spherical or convex surfaces engaging the seats 96 and 91. After these nuts have been properly seated, they may be locked in adjusted position by means of lock nuts I00. This mounting permits pivotal movement of the cylinder 83 relatively to the bracket 9|.

By the use of the adjustment for the solenoid coil mounting, or the turnbuckle 62, or both means of adjustment, the length of stroke may be adjusted to insure full opening and closing of the window.

It is thus seen that I have provided a novel solenoid operated window regulator, which is adapted for use on conventional types of cars, which is inexpensive to buy and install, and which has marked advantages in cost, installation and safety, over hydraulically-operated regulators.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and aracumen rangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or my invention, or the scope or the subjoinedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a window mounted for opening and closing movement in a vertical plane, a rotatable toothed supporting member secured to said window in underlying relationship thereto, a pinion operatively engaging said toothed member, a pivotally mounted gear sector operatively engaging said pinion, a sector pinion secured to said gear sector for coaxial rotation therewith, a pair of solenoid coils mounted in tandem adjacent said sector pinion, a common core operatively associated with both said coils for reciprocable movement, said core having a toothed portion engaging said sector pinion, and means for selectively energizing one or the other or said coils to effect movement of said core, whereby to cause selective rotation of said supporting member.

2. A combination, as defined in claim 1, including adjusting means associated with said solenoid coils to vary the axial spacing between said coils, whereby to define the upper and lower limits of movement of said member.

3. A combination, as defined in claim 2, where- 8 r in said adjusting means comprises a longitudinally slotted mounting plate, and threaded elements integrated with said coils and projecting through the slots in said plate, whereby said coils may be shifted longitudinally relatively to said sector pinion and said core.

LEO S. GREENMUN.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 761,608 Rhodes May 31, 1904 1,158,064 Lawrence Oct. 26, 1915 1,285,371 Powell et a1 Nov. 19, 1918 1,557,684 Gottschalk Oct. 20, 1925 1,559,896 Larsen Nov. 3, 1925 1,568,210 Colstad Jan. 5, 1926 1,698,362 Dugan Jan. 8, 1929 1,933,984 Kirchofl Nov. 7, 1933 1,944,026 Foster Jan. 16, 1934 2,475,985 Parsons July 12, 1949 2,559,120 Greenmun July 3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 587,716 Germany Nov. 7, 1933 

